The Russian Olympic Committee (ROC) has lost an appeal against a suspension handed down by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) following the country’s invasion of Ukraine.
Last October, the IOC suspended the ROC “until further notice” over a breach of the Olympic Charter.
That came after the ROC moved to incorporate sports bodies representing the regions of Luhansk, Donetsk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia in eastern Ukraine, which were annexed by Russia in 2022.
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The IOC’s decision means the ROC cannot operate as a National Olympic Committee or receive any funding from the Olympic movement.
Despite pressure from Ukraine to ban Russian and Belarusian athletes from competing at the 2024 Games in Paris, the IOC announced in December that athletes from the two countries could compete under a neutral flag. Russian and Belarusian teams, however, are barred.
The ROC appealed to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) in a bid to overturn the suspension, but on Friday, it was confirmed they had failed in that effort.
“The IOC is pleased that the CAS confirmed the IOC Executive Board (EB) decision on 12 October 2023 to suspend the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC). The IOC EB decision followed the unilateral decision taken by the ROC on 5 October 2023 to include, as its members, the regional… https://t.co/irNQOwpssn
— IOC MEDIA (@iocmedia) February 23, 2024
A widely reported CAS statement read: “The CAS panel in charge of this matter dismissed the appeal and confirmed the challenged decision, finding that the IOC executive board did not breach the principles of legality, equality, predictability or proportionality.
“The CAS panel’s decision is final and binding except for the parties’ right to file an appeal to the Swiss Federal Tribunal within 30 days on limited grounds.”
The opening ceremony for the 2024 summer Olympics will take place on July 26, with the closing ceremony being held on August 11.
